New York Times On the Fight Against Plastics

2 weeks ago

The New York Times joined the fight against single-use plastic bags again this week in an article called “Let’s Bag Plastic Bags.” The piece, which came just weeks after coverage of the Church of England’s announcement that it had added plastics to the list of items to avoid during lent, shined a startling light on New York’s plastic bag use and new personal and environmental health risks posed by plastic pollution.

According to the article, not only do New Yorkers use enough plastic bags—when tied together—to stretch to the moon and back 13 times, creating waste and pollution that threatens wildlife and our very existence, we also pay money for them. That’s right—according to the article, even prior to regionally imposed bag fees, plastic bags were never free. Their cost has always been folded into grocery prices, driving food costs up at even greater cost to the planet.

The piece also cited a 2016 World Economic Forum report projecting that if current trends continue, there will be more plastic than fish by weight in the oceans by 2050. Wildlife are not the only ones ingesting the plastics in our waters, either: plastic fibers have been found in tap water, too. According to the article, one study determined that 94 percent of waters samples in the United States contained plastic, presenting countless, as-yet unanswered questions concerning the health risks and hazards of direct plastic consumption.

For Good has already honed in on this issue, and many of our companies are working toward solutions. Companies working in this area include: